Canada Post showcases dessert staple on March 27 Eid stamp

By David Hartwig

A Canada Post stamp issued March 27 commemorates Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the two most important festivals in the Islamic calendar.

“Celebrated by more than one million Muslims in Canada, both events can last several days and include communal prayers and feasts, visits with family, gift-giving and acts of charity,” Canada Post said.

This nondenominated permanent-rate (currently 92¢) Eid stamp is sold in booklets of six.

The stamp shows a photograph of maamoul butter cookies, along with a wooden mold used to make them.

The cookies are handmade from semolina and stuffed with a walnut, pistachio or date filling. Other flavorings found in the cookies include rose or orange-blossom water and a spice made from ground cherry pits called mahlab. Carved wooden molds shape the filled cookies before baking.

Maamoul is popular in the Middle East as a staple dessert during Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, as well as Easter and Purim. Early versions of the cookies can be traced back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, according to Canada Post.

Canada Post provides a recipe for maamoul on its website.

Eid al-Fitr, which translates to “the festival of breaking the fast,” marks the end of Ramadan, one of the holiest months in the Islamic calendar. Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to sunset during the monthlong Ramadan fast.

This year, Eid al-Fitr is scheduled to begin on the evening of Tuesday, April 9, as the signal for the end of Ramadan.

Eid al-Fitr is followed by Eid al-Adha, the “festival of sacrifice.” This commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. Eid al-Adha is scheduled to begin in the middle of June this year.

Eid al-Adha also marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Kaaba is the most sacred site in Islam.

“Both festivals embody central Islamic practices and values,” Canada Post said, …

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